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New Regents Benjamin Kudo, John Dean and Tom Shigemoto were sworn in at a recent UH Board of Regents meeting with reappointed Regent Carl Carlson (second from left).

Three new members of the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents were sworn in at the board’s monthly meeting held May 17 at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

John Dean, Benjamin Kudo and Tom Shigemoto will begin their terms as regents on July 1. A fourth incoming regent, Jeffrey Acido, will be sworn in at a later date. His term also begins on July 1.

Dean, representing Honolulu County, is president and chief executive officer of Central Pacific Bank and Central Pacific Financial Corporation.

Kudo, an at-large representative, is an attorney and the chief financial officer and manager of the land use, administrative and environmental law group of Imanaka Kudo and Fujimoto.

Shigemoto, representing Kauaʻi County, is vice president of planning for A&B Properties, Inc., the real estate development division of Alexander and Baldwin, Inc.

Acido is the student regent and is a graduate student working towards an MA in Asian studies, focusing on the Philippines, with a concentration in Ilokano.

Outgoing regents honored

Outgoing Regents Ramon de la Pena, Teena Rasmussen and Dennis Hirota were recognized for their service. Not pictured is outgoing student Regent Matthew Williams.

The board also recognized members whose terms are ending June 30. Outgoing regents honored included Ramón de la Peña, Dennis Hirota, Teena Rasmussen and Matthew Williams.

de la Peña, a retired UH Mānoa professor and agronomist, has represented Kauaʻi County on the Board of Regents since 2004.

Hirota joined the Board of Regents in 2008 representing Honolulu County. He is the president of Sam Hirota, Inc., a 45-year-old civil engineering and surveying consulting company.

A regent since 2008, Rasmussen is coordinator of the Office of Economic Development for Maui and is involved with her family-owned company, Paradise Flower Farms.

Williams, who currently holds the student seat on the board, is a graduate with an MS in nursing and an MBA from UH Mānoa.

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